Comparing the Therapeutic Effects of Using Ruxolitinib and Steroids Concurrently to Steroids Alone as Initial Treatment In Patients Diagnosed With Chronic Graft-versus-host Disease at a Grade of Moderate or Higher Severity (FRONTJAK-001)

February 18, 2025 updated by: Byung-Sik Cho

A Nation-wide, Multi-center, Prospective, Randomized, Parallel-group, Open-label, Investigator Initiated Pilot Study to Evaluate Efficacy and Safety of Systemic Corticosteroid Plus Ruxolitinib as First-line Therapy in Patients With New-onset Moderate to Severe Chronic Graft-versus-host Disease

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a complication that occurs in 30-40% of recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) and is a major cause of late non-relapse mortality. In cases where the initial treatment response is inadequate, irreversible tissue damage often persists, making it a fatal complication that significantly reduces quality of life even for long-term survivors.

Therefore, the success of first-line treatment is crucial, but to date, there are no approved drugs specifically for the first-line treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease. Besides corticosteroids, which have been used palliatively for over 50 years, there are no proven effective treatments available.

Against this background, this study was designed to explore the potential of new treatments as first-line therapy for chronic graft-versus-host disease, where effective treatment options are currently lacking.

Initially, the objective response rate will be analyzed at the 48-week mark based on the NIH Consensus Criteria (Lee 2015). Additionally, the study will evaluate the proportion of patients with steroid-resistant or steroid-dependent conditions, the objective response rate(ORR), failure-free survival(FFS), duration of response(DOR), and the proportion of patients who have reduced corticosteroids. Furthermore, the differences in treatment effects between the two groups of patients will be analyzed based on safety endpoints, including adverse events, laboratory tests, physical examinations, and vital signs.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

88

Phase

  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

    • Banpo-daero/Seocho-gu
      • Seoul, Banpo-daero/Seocho-gu, Korea, Republic of, 06591
        • Recruiting
        • The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Byungsik Cho, M.D. & Ph.D.
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Daehoon Kwag, M.D.

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

[Inclusion Data]

  1. Adult men and women aged 19 or older based on the date of signing on the informed consent form
  2. On the screening visit, those who are diagnosed of a moderate to severe chronic graft-versus-host disease according to 2014 NIH consensus criteria

    -Moderate: At least one of the following conditions: >1 point for at least three organs >2 points for at least one organ except the lungs >1 point for the lungs

    -Severe: At least one of the following conditions: >3 points for at least one organ

    • At least 2 points for the lungs
  3. Those who have no history of systemic treatment for chronic graft-versus-host disease and now need systemic corticosteroid treatment
  4. Those whose ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) performance status is 0 to 2.
  5. Regardless of the donor (matched sibling-family donor, matched unrelated donor, or partially matched family donor), those who have successfully taken same-type stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) from the marrow, peripheral blood stem cell, or cord blood
  6. Those who voluntarily agree on participation in this clinical trial

[Exclusion Data]

  1. Those who meet the following criteria in laboratory tests during the screening and randomization visits

    • Those whose platelet count is less than or equal to 25,000/mm3 without blood transfusion
    • Those whose absolute neutrophil count is less than or equal to 1,000/mm3
    • Those whose total bilirubin > 3 x ULN for any reason other than chronic graft-versus-host disease
  2. Those with gastrointestinal troubles that hinder the intake and absorption of IMPs and concomitant medicines (systemic corticosteroid) (e.g.: signs such as ulcerative disease, unregulated nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, malabsorption, etc. or small intestine removal)
  3. Those with a history of graft-versus-host disease treatment

    • Corticosteroid administration is permitted for chronic graft-versus-host disease treatment within 72 hours before the randomization visit
    • Except those who had therapeutic or preventive use of systemic corticosteroids and/or systemic immunosuppressants (CNI, MMF) for acute graft-versus-host disease (In case of prednisone administration for maintenance, only 0.5 mg/kg/day or less is permitted)
  4. Those to whom the treatment for chronic graft-versus-host disease cannot begin as prednisone ≥ 0.5 mg/kg/day
  5. Those whose same-type stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) has been confirmed as engraft-failed within 6 months before the screening visit
  6. Those with an experience of ruxolitinib administration for acute graft-versus-host disease treatment (however, the patient may participate on the assumption that the response to the acute graft-versus-host disease treatment reaches the level of complete or partial response and that there is no ruxolitinib administration history within 4 weeks before the randomization visit. In addition, if ruxolitinib administration was for another disease, the patient may participate unless there is no history of ruxolitinib administration within 4 weeks before the randomization visit.)
  7. Those who suffer chronic graft-versus-host disease after an unscheduled donor lymphocyte infusion for proactive treatment to prevent the recurrence of a malignant tumor (Participation is allowed if the scheduled lymphocyte infusion is performed as part of the transplantation procedure, not for the prevention of the recurrence of a malignant tumor.)
  8. Those found to have the following history in the screening visit:

    • Relapsed primary malignancy
    • Those found to involve an unregulated sinusoidal obstruction syndrome
    • Those with a history of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML)
    • Nephropathy whose creatinine clearance rate is lower than 30 mL/min (Cockroft Gault equation)
    • Infections that are clinically active and uncontrolled, requiring treatment, including significant bacteria, fungi, viruses, or parasitic infections. (However, if there are no signs of progression at the time of screening due to appropriate treatment, the infection is considered controlled. The progression of infection is defined by hemodynamic instability due to sepsis, new symptoms caused by the infection, worsening physical signs, or radiological findings. A persistent fever without other signs or symptoms is not interpreted as progressive infection.)
    • Active tuberculosis
    • HIV-infected individual
    • Active infection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) that the investigator views as significant
    • Cardiovascular disease that the investigator considers as clinically significant (acute cardiac infarction (within 6 months before randomization), NYHA class III or IV congestive heart failure, unstable angina (within 6 months before randomization), clinically significant symptomatic cardiac arrhythmia (e.g.: continued ventricular tachycardia, clinically significant level 2 or 3 AV blockage with no pacemaker used), unregulated hypertension)
  9. Those allergic or sensitive to additives of IMPs and concomitant medicines (systemic corticosteroid) or similar compounds
  10. Patients with genetic problems such as galactose intolerance, lapp lactase deficiency, glucose - galactose malabsorption, etc.
  11. Those who are administrated with more than 200 mg of Fluconazole per day
  12. Those being treated with systemic medicines that may hinder blood coagulation or platelet functions such as aspirin, heparin, and warfarin (However, those whose aspirin administration does not exceed 150 mg/day may participate.)
  13. Pregnant or breast-feeding women
  14. Those who do not agree on utilizing proper methods of contraception(e.g. a copper intrauterine device (copper loop), an intrauterine device containing hormones, condoms, a vasectomy, tubal surgery, a spermicide, a vagina-inserted contraceptive, a subdermal implant, an injectable contraceptive, a female condom, oral contraceptive, etc.) during the period of this clinical trial(the period of IP administration and at least 30 days after IP administration ends)
  15. Those who have participated in another clinical trial within 30 days before the screening visit and have a history of IMP administration/medical equipment application (However, if the investigator views such a previous trial as not affecting this clinical trial's efficacy and safety assessment such as observational study or retrospective study, the subject may participate.)
  16. Those whose participation in this clinical trial is viewed as inappropriate in the investigator's opinion.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Prednisone + Jakavi(ruxolitinib)

The experimental group will receive ruxolitinib 10 mg orally twice daily (BID) and prednisone (or equivalent) at a dosage of 1 mg/kg/day.

Subjects are orally administered with an investigational medicinal product (IMP) according to their designated treatment group for 48 weeks, and the investigator may adjust the dosage of IMPs based on symptoms of the target disease. (However, after the 48-week mark, participants in the ruxolitinib treatment group may continue to receive ruxolitinib for an additional maximum of 2 years, based on the investigator's judgment regarding the need for ongoing treatment. The total duration of ruxolitinib administration will not exceed 3 years.)

The experimental group will receive ruxolitinib 10 mg orally twice daily (BID) and prednisone (or equivalent) at a dosage of 1 mg/kg/day.

Subjects are orally administered with an investigational medicinal product (IMP) according to their designated treatment group for 48 weeks, and the investigator may adjust the dosage of IMPs based on symptoms of the target disease. (However, after the 48-week mark, participants in the ruxolitinib treatment group may continue to receive ruxolitinib for an additional maximum of 2 years, based on the investigator's judgment regarding the need for ongoing treatment. The total duration of ruxolitinib administration will not exceed 3 years.)

Active Comparator: Prednisone

The control group will receive prednisone (or equivalent) at a dosage of 1 mg/kg/day.

Subjects are orally administered with an investigational medicinal product (IMP) according to their designated treatment group for 48 weeks, and the investigator may adjust the dosage of IMPs based on symptoms of the target disease.

The control group will receive prednisone (or equivalent) at a dosage of 1 mg/kg/day.

Subjects are orally administered with an investigational medicinal product (IMP) according to their designated treatment group for 48 weeks, and the investigator may adjust the dosage of IMPs based on symptoms of the target disease.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Overall Response Rate(ORR)
Time Frame: on 48 week
ORR was defined as the proportion of participants in each study arm achieving either a complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) based on chronic GvHD (cGvHD) assessments in accordance with the National Institutes of Health Consensus Criteria. Response scoring was compared against the organ score at the time of randomization. CR was characterized by the complete resolution of all cGvHD-related signs and symptoms across all evaluable organs, without the initiation or addition of new systemic therapies. PR was defined as improvement in at least one organ (e.g., an increase of 1 or more points on a 4- to 7-point scale, or an increase of 2 or more points on a 10- to 12-point scale) with no progression in other organs or sites and without the need for initiation or addition of new systemic therapies. Participants requiring additional systemic therapies for earlier progression, mixed response, or non-response were classified as not achieving response.
on 48 week

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Ratio of subjects who are found steroid-refractory or steroid-dependent
Time Frame: on Weeks 1, 4, 24, 36 and 48
All corticosteroid dosages administered to participants, along with any dose adjustments made during the study, were documented to evaluate participants meeting specific criteria.Steroid-refractory chronic GvHD(SR-cGVHD) was defined as either progression of cGVHD while receiving prednisone at a dose of ≥1mg/kg/day for at least 1 week or stable cGVHD while on≥0.5mg/kg/day or ≥1mg/kg every other day(EOD) for at least 1 month.Response criteria were based on the National Institutes of Health Consensus Criteria.Progression was defined as worsening in any organ or site or the need to initiate or add new systemic therapies.Participants who did not meet the criteria for overall response or progression were categorized as stable.Steroid-dependent participants were defined as those for whom at least two corticosteroid tapering attempts, spaced at least 8 weeks apart, had failed, requiring corticosteroid doses>0.25 mg/kg/day or >0.5mg/kg/day EOD to prevent recurrence or progression of symptoms.
on Weeks 1, 4, 24, 36 and 48
Overall Response Rate (ORR) based on the NIH Consensus Criteria on Weeks 24 and 36
Time Frame: on Weeks 24 and 36
ORR was defined as the proportion of participants in each study arm achieving either a complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) based on chronic GvHD (cGvHD) assessments in accordance with the National Institutes of Health Consensus Criteria. Response scoring was compared against the organ score at the time of randomization. CR was characterized by the complete resolution of all cGvHD-related signs and symptoms across all evaluable organs, without the initiation or addition of new systemic therapies. PR was defined as improvement in at least one organ (e.g., an increase of 1 or more points on a 4- to 7-point scale, or an increase of 2 or more points on a 10- to 12-point scale) with no progression in other organs or sites and without the need for initiation or addition of new systemic therapies. Participants requiring additional systemic therapies for earlier progression, mixed response, or non-response were classified as not achieving response.
on Weeks 24 and 36
Failure-free Survival (FFS)
Time Frame: for 48 weeks
Composite time to event endpoint incorporating the following FFS events: (i) relapse or recurrence of underlying disease or death due to underlying disease, (ii) nonrelapse mortality, or (iii) addition or initiation of another systemic therapy for cGvHD.
for 48 weeks
Duration of Response (DOR)
Time Frame: for 48 weeks
DOR was defined as the time from first response until cGvHD progression, death, or the date of change/addition of systemic therapies for cGvHD and as assessed for responders only. Response was based on cGvHD disease assessments (National Institutes of Health consensus criteria). Duration of response was evaluated in participants who achieved a CR or PR at or before Cycle 7 Day 1.
for 48 weeks
Ratio of subjects whose daily dosage of systemic corticosteroid is reduced as much as at least 50%
Time Frame: compared to the baseline on Week 48
All corticosteroid dosages administered to participants, along with any dose adjustments made during the study, were documented to evaluate participants who achieved a ≥ 50% reduction in their daily corticosteroid dose.
compared to the baseline on Week 48
Ratio of subjects whose daily dosage of systemic corticosteroid is reduced
Time Frame: compared to the baseline on Week 48
All corticosteroid dosages administered to participants, along with any dose adjustments made during the study, were documented for assessment of participants with any degree of reduction in daily corticosteroid dose.
compared to the baseline on Week 48
Time up to the point of stopping systemic immunosuppressant administration (concomitant medicines other than IMPs)
Time Frame: for 48 weeks
All systemic immunosuppressant dosages administered to participants, along with any dose adjustments during the study, were documented to assess participants who successfully discontinued all systemic immunosuppressants. Participants who were classified as having completely tapered off immunosuppressants were those who permanently ceased their use as recorded in the dose administration records and did not restart treatment within the same interval. Participants who discontinued immunosuppressants and remained in follow-up were also considered tapered off, with a recorded dose of 0 in subsequent intervals unless they restarted immunosuppressant treatment or withdrew from the main treatment period.
for 48 weeks
Change in FACT-BMT((Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Bone Marrow Transplantation) score
Time Frame: compared to the baseline on Week 24, 36 and 48
Change from Baseline was calculated as the post-Baseline value minus the Baseline value. The FACT-BMT is a 50-item self-report questionnaire that measures the effect of a therapy on domains including physical, functional, social/family, and emotional well-being, together with additional concerns relevant for bone marrow transplantation participants. The questions were based on a 5-point Likert scale, where 0 corresponds to "not at all" and 4 corresponds to "very much." The higher the final score, the better the quality of life. The FACT-BMT total score ranges from 0 to 148.
compared to the baseline on Week 24, 36 and 48
Change in EQ-5D-5L(European Quality of Life 5 Dimension) score
Time Frame: compared to the baseline on Week 24, 36 and 48
The EQ-5D-5L is a descriptive classification consisting of five dimensions of health: mobility, self-care, usual activities, anxiety/depression, and pain/discomfort. The five-level version (no problems, slight problems, moderate problems, severe problems, and extreme problems) uses a 5-point Likert scale, with 1 being no problems and 5 being extreme problems.
compared to the baseline on Week 24, 36 and 48

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Participants With Any Treatment-emergent Adverse Event (TEAE)
Time Frame: for 48 weeks
Adverse events (AEs) were defined as the onset or worsening of any undesirable signs, symptoms, or medical conditions that occurred after the participant provided signed informed consent. Abnormal laboratory values or test results following informed consent were classified as AEs only if they resulted in clinical signs or symptoms, were deemed clinically significant, required intervention (e.g., treatment for hematologic abnormalities such as transfusion or hematopoietic stem cell support), or necessitated changes in study medication(s). Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were defined as AEs that began or worsened during the on-treatment period, which included both the randomized and cross-over phases of the study.
for 48 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Collaborators

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 15, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

November 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 31, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 13, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 24, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

March 25, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 25, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 18, 2025

Last Verified

February 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CINC424DKR01T

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Study Data/Documents

  1. Clinical Study Report
    Information comments: National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency (NECA). Study to establish evidence for optimal use of various graft sources in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. December 31, 2020.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

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